David Donnell
| birthplace = St. Marys, Ontario | occupation = Writer, Poet | nationality = Canadian }} David Donnell (born October 13, 1939) is a Governor General's Award-winning Canadian poet and fiction writer.Marlene Alt, "Donnell, David," Canadian Encyclopedia. Edmonton, AB: Hurtig, 1988, 615a. Print. Life Donnell was born in St. Marys, Ontario in 1939. He moved to Toronto in 1958 and published his debut collection, Poems, in 1961. During this period he frequented the Bohemian Embassy tavern in Toronto, where Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Milton Acorn, and other poets were establishing their reputations. In conjunction with John Robert Colombo, Donnell printed Atwood's earliest book, Double Persephone (1961). Donnell published The Blue Sky: Poems, 1974-1977, examining the relationships of his life from an oblique perspective; then Dangerous Crossings(1980), followed by A Poem About Poland. He continued publishing with Water Street Days (1989) where he examines his past and his childhood; the poems are narrative confession's; and China Blues (1992)Bruce Meyer "Donnell, David." The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. Eugene Benson and William Toye. Oxford University Press 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Douglas College. Web, 3 November 2010. His poems have been anthologized in The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English, 1982, The New Canadian Poets, 1970-1985. 1985, and The Norton Introduction to Modern Poetry, 3rd edition, 1986. Writing Donnell's poems offer perspectives about the stresses and ironic staples of urban life. His poetry is known for its escalating fascination with prose fiction, that becomes more dominant in the final sections of China Blues and Water Street Days, and is a important feature in his Dancing In The Dark (1996). The Canadian Encyclopedia says that "Donnell's poetry speaks in the vernacular. Refreshingly accessible, it pulses with the realities of home, street, and working life." Recognition Donnell won the Canadian Comic Poet Award in 1981, and the 1983 Governor General's Award for English language poetry for his collection Settlements. He has also received the Therafields Chapbook Award, 1986. and the City of Toronto Book Award, 1993.David Donnell, Poets.ca, League of Canadian Poets. Web, Apr. 5, 2017. Publications Poetry *''Poems''. Thornhill, ON: Village Press, 1961. *''Leaves are Falling on the Rivers, Fruits are Falling in the Garden: Poems''. Thornhill, ON: Village Press, 1961. *''The Blue Sky: Poems, 1974-1977''. Coatsworth, ON: Black Moss Press, 1977. *''Dangerous Crossings: Poems, 1978/79''. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1979. *''Settlements''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1983. ISBN 0-7710-2849-0 *''The Natural History of Water''. Toronto: Shaw Street Press, 1986. ISBN 0-920901-01-8 *''Crab Cakes w/ Blueberries''. Toronto: Letters Book Shop, 1995. *''Sometimes a Great Notion: Poems''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2004. ISBN 978-0-7710-2826-7 *''Watermelon Kindness''. Toronto: ECW Press, 2010. Short fiction *''The Blue Ontario Hemingway Boat Race: Stories''. Toronto: Coach House, 1985. ISBN 0-88910-302-X *''Water Street Days: Poems and Stories''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1989. ISBN 0-7710-2848-2 *''China Blues: Poems and Stories''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1992. ISBN 0-7710-2843-1 *''Dancing in the Dark: Poems and stories''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1996. ISBN 0-7710-2833-4 Non-fiction *''Hemingway in Toronto: A post-modern tribute''. Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 1982. ISBN 0-88753-090-7 Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:David Donnell, WorlCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 12, 2014. See also *List of Canadian poets *Timeline of Canadian poetry References Notes External links ;Books *David Donnell at Amazon.com ;About *David Donnell in the Canadian Encyclopedia *David Donnell at the League of Canadian Poets Category:Living people Category:1939 births Category:Canadian poets Category:Governor General's Award winning poets Category:People from Perth County, Ontario Category:Writers from Ontario Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets